Lesson 10: Personal Pronouns and the verb "to be"
ἐγω - I | εἰμι - I am |
σου - you | δε - but |
αὐτος - he | οὐ - not |
αὐτη - she | οὐκ - not |
αὐτον - it | οὐξ- not |
ASSIGNMENT: Memorize the vocabulary list above.
Some notes of importance:
The word δε never stands at the beginning of a clause.
In Greek the negative particle is normally found immediately in front of the word is negates.
Now, to the personal pronouns. They are declined as follows:
Singular | Plural | |
Nom | ἐγω - I | ἡμεις - we |
Gen | ἐμου - of me | ἡμων - of us |
L.I.D. | ἐμοι - to me | ἡμιν - to us |
Acc. | ἐμε - me | ἡμας - us |
(The student should note that the abbreviations for the cases are given above, and will be used from this point on. This should cause no difficulty, as you know the case names by now).
Singular | Plural | |
Nom. | συ - you | ἡμεις - you |
Gen. | σου - of you | ἡμων - of you |
L.I.D. | σοι - to you | ἡμιν - to you |
Acc. | σε - you | ἡμας - you |
Masc. | Fem. | Neuter | |
Nom | αὐτος - he | αὐτη - she | αὐτο - it |
Gen | αὐτου - of him | αὐτης - of her | αὐτου - of it |
L.I.D. | αὐτῳ - to him | αὐτῃ - to her | αὐτῳ - to it |
Acc. | αὐτον - him | αὐτην - her | αὐτο - it |
Masc. | Fem. | Neuter | |
Nom. | αὐτοι - they | αὐται - they | αὐτα - they |
Gen. | αὐτων - of them | αὐτων - of them | αὐτων - of them |
L.I.D. | αὐτοις - to them | αὐταις - to them | αὐτοις - to them |
Acc. | αὐτους - them | αὐτας - them | αὐτα - them |
ASSIGNMENT: Memorize the personal pronouns above.
A pronoun agrees with the noun it is replacing in case, gender and number (just like an adjective).
Whenever the phrase ὁ αὐτος occurs it must be translated "the same".
All of these pronouns must be carefully translated according to their context. Only practice in this art can help one correctly render these pronouns.
εἰμι - I am | ἐσμεν - we are |
εἰ - you are | ἐστε - you are |
ἐστι(ν) - he, she, it is | εἰσι(ν) - they are |
The moveable -ν occurs frequently in this verb. When it occurs, simply note it. It does not change the translation at all. It was simply used as a syllable closer.
ASSIGNMENT: Memorize the verb ei0mi as it is conjugated above. Then, translate the following sentences:
1. διδασκω τους υἱους μου και λεγω αὐτοις παραβολῃ
2. ἐγω εἰμι δουλος, συ δε εἰ ἀποσtολος
3. οἱ ἀδελφοι ἡμων βλεπουσιν ἡμας και ἡμεις διδασκομεν αὐτους